November 22, 2281
"You have the chance to change the Mojave, to improve the lives of everyone in it," the Chosen One said, looking across at the younger man in front of him, this Courier. A cocky smirk crossed the face of the Courier.
"I noticed. The NCR wants me to work for them. House wants me to do his dirty work. And Caesar wants me to serve him. I can't say I'm inclined to do any of those, though," Achilles replied. Hope flared in the Chosen One at Achilles' response.
"Then don't! You have the chance to take charge, to lead the Mojave yourself. If you play your cards right you can play all the factions against each other," Yudhajit responded, drawing a chuckle from Achilles.
"What makes you think I give a fuck about the Mojave or the people in it? I don't even know who I am anymore, let alone the people here," he said, crushing the hope Yudhajit had felt.
"You have to know by now that you're different than the people around you. And you're not alone. I told you about myself and the man from the East that I'm traveling with. If you joined with us we could change this Wasteland."
"Even if I wanted to do something like that, why would I want the help of a has-been and a never-was? I think the Mojave can be quite charming, in a desperate, deeply depressing way," Achilles responded. Yudhajit attempted to control his anger and remain logical.
"Let us show you, then. I know by now people must be coming to you to help solve their problems. We'll help you with anything you want and you can see for yourself," Yudhajit replied.
"Why would I do that when I have Boone and Cass to help me?"
"Do they truly keep up with you? Or are they just extra guns?" Achilles paused for a moment.
"Boone is useful in open areas. But no, they don't truly keep up. I'd rather work alone than with two people I don't know, though. How could I even trust that you wouldn't double-cross me?" Yudhajit saw his opening, pouncing on it.
"Do Cass or Boone know your secret?" he asked, drawing a look of confusion from Achilles.
"What secret?" Yudhajit smirked, having laid the trap.
"That you were a Legionary," he replied. Achilles, to his credit, did not betray any particularly intense emotion, the only sign that Yudhajit had hit close to home being the clenching of his jaw.
"What makes you think I was a Legionary?" Achilles asked.
"Your accent. You may be able to fool people who have never met tribals or been East, but not me. I'm a tribal that's been East. I know what a tribal accent sounds like, and it's not yours. Your accent sounds almost like the one that Spanish speakers have when they speak English. Spanish evolved out of Latin. Based on what Cass says about your fighting ability and your accent, I'd say that you were born in Arizona, that you grew up speaking Latin and knew nothing but the Legion. You served Caesar your entire life. Am I right?" There was a pregnant silence before Achilles responded.
"Dum vivimus servimus," he admitted.
"Let me and my young companion prove to you that we're your equals, and your companions will be none the wiser to your background," Yudhajit replied. Achilles clenched his jaw more visibly, his anger at being backed into a corner obvious.
"Fine. Vault 3, tomorrow. Noon. The Fiends should be either passed out or totally strung out at that time of day," Achilles responded. Yudhajit nodded in confirmation.
"We have a deal, then. Why don't we get back to our friends now? They'll be wondering where we went," he replied with a smile, before leading the way back into the Aces Theater.
Do you kids like ghost stories? Three Dog's unmistakable voice asked, crackling through the speakers of radios across the Capital Wasteland. Well settle in, because ol' Three Dog has heard tale of a ghost haunting the DC ruins. A vengeful ghost, they say, killing everything that crosses its path-raiders, Talon Company; even our boys in power armor have had their luck run out against this ghost. Some people say that the ghost is the vengeful spirits of all those people that died when the bombs fell, coming together to punish us for fighting on their resting place. Other people think its that kid from 101, back and trying to set the Wasteland right again; as if he didn't prove that he doesn't care years ago. Whatever this ghost is, kiddies, you be careful wandering the DC ruins. Something is out there, and it's out for blood. Three Dog leaned back from the microphone, clearing his throat before continuing.
In other news, got an interesting report out of Megaton. Apparently, sometime recently there was some kind of meeting of the minds there; the leaders of a couple towns and the Talon Company having a powwow at the Brass Lantern. Among the group was none other than the young overseer of Vault 101. Now you all remember the two most famous people to come out of 101; but what you may not know is that the kid from 101 had a long relationship with the current overseer of the Vault. When she came up to this meeting, sources say, she was visibly pregnant. So not only did the kid bail out on the Wasteland, he bailed out on a pregnant girlfriend. Looks like he wasn't the person we all thought he was, after all. Now, in honor of that poor girl he left behind, here's The Ink Spots with "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall." Three Dog pressed the play button on his console, leaning back in his chair with a smile of satisfaction. If that didn't get people to realize that the kid was just a man, nothing would.
Amata's eyes had been narrowed at the radio through the entire broadcast, rage pulsing through her mind as she listened. Furious, she paced the length of her office. Within a minute of the end of the broadcast the door opened, Susie and Elliot entering the room, each wearing their own look of shock and anger.
"How did he find out?" Amata hissed through clenched teeth.
"It has to have been someone that was in Megaton. That's the only explanation," Susie began.
"I can't believe any of our group would go to Three Dog. It had to be someone else," Amata replied, not wanting to believe that one of the alliance could have betrayed her.
"A resident of Megaton, maybe?" Elliot asked.
"Has to be. Sheriff Simms would know best who may want to do something like this…but I have an idea," Susie said. Both pairs of eyes focused on her at that response. "Remember that blonde we saw storm out of the Brass Lantern when we arrived, Amata? I think…I think it may have been her. I think she might have been jealous about John getting back with you at his birthday." Amata's eyes narrowed at that response.
"Find out. I want to know for sure," she commanded. Susie nodded at her in response.
"And if it was her?"
"I want to talk to her."
Clover processed what Three Dog had just said as she sat in her safe house, cleaning her shocksword to keep her hands busy. He has to go, she determined as she thought. How, though? The GNR station was heavily guarded by the Brotherhood, it would be beyond difficult to sneak in; and she had not heard of the man leaving it often, if at all. If you can't silence the man, silence his message. Think of that one, sugar? You know how he boosts his radio signal…the realization of how she could silence Three Dog came to her, and a smile crossed Clover's lips. It was so simple she was almost mad at herself for not thinking of it sooner. She had wanted to disrupt the Brotherhood and their allies; her plan would do much more than that. It would introduce a form of anarchy to the Wasteland, the sort that existed before the Wanderer had come out of the Vault. Thou art dust, and to dust you shall return, she thought, laughing quietly to herself.
John had been told that Vault 3 lay deep in Fiends territory; that the trip there could be dangerous. As he and the Chosen One had made their way to the Vault, under the blistering Mojave sun that strained their power armor's cooling systems, he was unnerved by how utterly quiet the West Vegas ruins were. The only sounds to be heard were the distant rattle of automatic weapons fire and the wind blowing through the rubble. It was roughly halfway through the trip to the Vault from the Strip that the duo encountered their first sign that someone had already been there-a group of Fiends lay in the sun, the heat causing decay to already set in on kills that looked to be only hours old, at most. He and the Chosen One stopped to examine the group of four Fiends that lay in close proximity to one another. Yudhajit was the first to speak.
"This one was killed by a blade. Someone nearly hacked his head off," he began, speaking as he patted the body down for anything useful.
"This one got drilled in the head with a small round, it looks like," John said, nose wrinkled in disgust inside of his helmet. Whoever had killed these Fiends knew how to fight.
"He's already been here, then," Yudhajit responded, rising back to his feet. "The Courier. He must already have come through on his way to the Vault. Son of a bitch…" he muttered, picking up the pace as they continued moving to the Vault. The trip continued uninterrupted, the only evidence of life being the bodies of yet more Fiends as they neared Vault 3. As they approached the Vault, a figure appeared, his light armor and lack of heavy weapons a stark contrast to the two power armored figures approaching. As they drew close the Courier lifted his gaze to them, a smirk crossing his face as he did.
"Power armor for a bunch of Fiends? Isn't that overkill?" he began, smiling.
"Overconfidence can be a weakness," Yudhajit responded, before changing the topic. "This is the man I spoke of. John Thompson, the Lone Wanderer from the Capital," he said, gesturing to John as he did. The Wanderer nodded his head at the Courier.
"Ah, so you're the never-was that's traveling with the has-been," he began, eyes moving between the two. "You ready to get this started?" he continued, before either of them could respond to his insult. Without waiting for an answer Achilles set off toward the Vault entrance, John and Yudhajit falling in behind him.
"What's the plan?" John asked as Achilles lifted the lever that would open the Vault door.
"Kill them all," Achilles responded simply, turning to enter the Vault.
"Alecia, don't go far! It'll be time for dinner soon, sugar," the girl's mother called to her from the front of their house. Alecia turned and waved quickly over her shoulder to acknowledge her mother. She at least had time to make it to the Brahmin pens where her boyfriend worked before she had to turn around and head back. As she walked, idly fantasizing about how attractive her boyfriend looked when he was working the Brahmin, she became aware of a person, no, multiple people around her.
"What have we got here, boys?" a rough voice asked, drawing a menacing chuckle from the group as Alecia turned to face them. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she backed away. She didn't know any of the men, she had hardly ever interacted with people from outside her town.
"Who are you?" she choked out, slowly backing away. The man who had spoken just smiled, his yellowed teeth visible as he walked toward her.
"Paradise Falls will pay big for her," he said. Before she could scream the men were on her…
Clover jolted awake from the nightmare, her heart racing as she rolled off her bedding and began to pace the dark room, gripping her head in her hands. The nightmares had begun years before, after the Wanderer had deprogrammed her and destroyed the walls that the Slavers had built in her through their brainwashing. Dropping into a crouch, Clover began to breathe deeply, attempting to calm her heart rate and fight the anxiety that was building in her. Slowly, she began talking to herself, repeating the mantras she had taught herself. You're safe now. You're strong. No one can ever hurt you again. Slowly, she stood back up. It would be darkness soon. Her time to operate, to begin moving towards the Mall and the Washington Monument. Pulling on her stealth suit, she focused on the movement of her hands, the feel of the armor to calm herself, to remind herself that she was in control; that the past couldn't hurt her anymore. Leaving the hood of the suit draped back she strapped her ubiquitous shocksword across her back, before picking up the Gauss rifle the Wanderer had left her and slinging it across the front of her body. Satisfied that her weapons were in order, she pulled the hood over her head and activated the stealth field; disappearing into nothingness before exiting into the early night, moving from shadow to shadow towards the Mall.
The trip proceeded uneventfully. Clover realized she had become sloppy, that she couldn't afford to recklessly kill everything that crossed her path. She was still angry at herself for deactivating her cloaking field in the middle of the street when she had executed the raider. In the distance, visibly reflecting the last rays of the setting sun, the broken ruins of the Washington Monument stood, a last testament to the glory that had once been the capital of the United States of America. In her more philosophical moments Clover reflected on that. While she was perfectly content to let people think she was a dumb, sadistic blonde with an insatiable libido, she was, in her private moments, a thoughtful person. She had been the person the Wanderer had talked to when he needed to discuss the philosophy of good and evil, to hear the opinion of someone who didn't see him as a man incapable of doing wrong. She had seen early on that the Wanderer, despite his bitterness, had an inherent goodness that would stop him from doing the things that were necessary to win the war they were fighting. Clover knew that her goodness was long since gone, that her life had entered a shade of gray that it would likely never escape from. That was how they had agreed, she and the Wanderer, that she would be his necessary evil; that she would operate with an implied sanction while never telling him the truth of what she did in the name of their cause.
The Vault door opening was not a quiet affair. As the trio strode into the entrance chamber of Vault 3, John counted four Fiends waiting for them. The nearest, a dirty looking woman wearing what appeared to be a skull as a helmet, began to speak in a fast, aggressive tone; one that clearly indicated she was probably high on Psycho.
"I don't know what the fuck you think-" she began, being cut off in midsentence by Achilles raising a small revolver, the likes of which John had never seen before, and shooting her in the forehead.
"Shut up," the Courier spat in an almost dismissive tone as the dead Fiend crumpled to the ground. The only people more shocked than John and Yudhajit were the remaining three Fiends, who stood in shock, gaping at what had just happened. Their shock proved to be their demise as the Courier charged forward, unloading two more rounds at the most distant Fiends, each proving to be a lethal shot. The nearest Fiend, standing at the top of the stairs, had only just begun to raise his weapon as Achilles swung his machete down in a hard, fast blow; cleaving deep into the man's skull and dropping him to his knees. Putting a boot on the man's chest, Achilles kicked while wrenching the blade free, sending the man sprawling as his blood pooled around him.
"What the fuck was that?!" John yelled to no one in particular as he raised his assault rifle, training it on the doorway in the event that any Fiends had heard the violence and chose to investigate. Yudhajit and Achilles matched his movement, training their respective plasma rifle and handgun on the doorway as the sound of rapid footfalls became clear.
"Just cover the door," Achilles responded, followed a moment later by the first Fiend bursting into the chamber. He took no more than a step through the door when he was met by a barrage of fire from John and Achilles, dropping him to the ground with gaping wounds in him. The Chosen One elected to hold his fire, realizing that his two younger companions had the situation well in hand. In truth, arrayed in his Mark II Advanced Power Armor, Yudhajit doubted he truly needed a firearm at all. He was certain that in his younger years he would have been able to slaughter every Fiend in the Vault while wearing it with his bare hands. For appearance's sake, though, he had to be armed. He didn't plan on showing his hand, as the saying around New Vegas went, before it was time. Best to let the Courier continue believing that he was over the hill until he had a better picture of the situation.
The Washington Monument had grown larger as Clover made her way down Constitution Avenue, paralleling the Mall. She remembered the days, years before, when this area was a war zone; the trench network that had been dug out sprawling across the Mall and being the epicenter of the fighting between the Brotherhood and the Super Mutants. Faintly visible, but out of range of her Gauss rifle, Clover could make out the antenna relay that the Wanderer had installed to boost GNR's signal. He had told her he had installed it after a Super Mutant shot up the old antenna, giving her the idea she was currently operating on to silence GNR. As she made her way down the road, a glimmer of green on the ground caught her eye. Stopping, she knelt to look at it, a feeling of shock being overcome by something akin to premonition. It was a Four Leaf Clover. Nothing grew in this part of DC, it was too irradiated, she had always thought. And yet here it was, as clear as day. It was as she moved to pick the clover that a gunshot cracked out and impacted the ground no less than three feet in front of her. Jumping backward, she swiveled to face the sound of the gunshot; heart racing as her fight instincts kicked in. Standing across from her, 25 meters away, was a Brotherhood knight. How did he see me? She had kept her cloaking field active. Darting forward and at an angle towards the man, she narrowly evaded another shot. She slowed as the man lowered his rifle, drawing her shocksword as he did.
"I know you're there," he intoned quietly. Clover deactivated her stealth field as she drew closer, the man's gaze already on her. She noticed, as she did, the symbol of the Lyons' Pride on his chest. The realization hit her as she looked at him.
"Gallows. How…charming to see you again," she replied. The man remained silent as they began to circle each other, only 5 meters separating them. She knew any of her psychological strategies that she employed would be useless on this man. He was as close to stone as any member of the Brotherhood she had seen or heard of. She would be unable to intimidate him, to distract him with her sexuality. He was relentless, and if he had set his mind to it she knew he would pursue her until one of them was dead. The image of the Four Leaf Clover flashed through her mind as she moved. Maybe it was a sign, after all. My lucky day, she thought. Clover stopped moving as Gallows drew out a Ripper, his thumb flipping to activate the blade on it. Nodding slightly, Clover activated the electrical current on her sword and, in the blink of an eye, leapt forward; swinging her sword down as she did. Gallows met it with his Ripper, the blades bouncing off each other as they engaged each other in a blur of motion.
John and Yudhajit had followed Achilles through the halls of the Vault, their combined fire cutting down the Fiends who were too foolish to run or hide; which proved to be most of them. The halls of the Vault, already filthy from the Fiends lack of care, now were adorned with blood and corpses as well. John, for his part, felt no sympathy after hearing how they had massacred the original inhabitants of the Vault. Achilles had taken the lead, John and Yudhajit covering the rear and sides. As they entered one of the living quarters, Achilles made his way to a dresser and began tossing it, stuffing what appeared to be Vault suits in his pack.
"What are you doing?" Yudhajit asked, turned to cover the exit on the far side of the room.
"The girl that runs the Vault 21 hotel, Sarah, asked if I could find more Vault suits for her to sell. I think she might put out if I bring her enough. If you see any, toss them my way," the Courier replied, standing back up.
"Seriously? We're going after the leader of the Fiends and you're thinking about getting laid after this?" John asked. Achilles simply grunted in response, striding out of the room and continuing towards the engineering section. They continued to move through the halls, the number of Fiends they encountered diminishing as they did, until Achilles turned to round a corner. There was a brief pause as the Courier's eyes went wide, before he dove back to the wall that John and Yudhajit were standing along; followed a second later by a burst of fire.
"He has a Flamer," Achilles said simply.
"Yeah, I see that," John replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Before they could continue their discussion, the Chosen One spoke up.
"Allow me," he said, rounding the corner to face the Fiend. He raised his plasma rifle as more fire burned impotently against his power armor; the Flamer utterly useless against the advanced technology and composites that made up the armor Yudhajit wore. A quick blast of plasma came from the Chosen One, followed by a scream and the sound of the Flamer going silent.
"We're clear," he informed his two companions; Achilles nodding in response and taking the lead again. They drew near the engineering section, cutting down three more Fiends before the Courier turned to face them.
"Motor Runner should be in the room up ahead. Wait here, I'll be right back," he said, turning to leave before either other man could respond. The two watched him stride through the open door and turn, a smile crossing his face as the sound of dogs growling became clear. "Hi, Motor Runner!" he cheerfully exclaimed, followed by him raising his pistol and firing two quick shots; followed by the yelps of the dogs being hit. There was a sound of a man's enraged cry, which was cut short by three more shots from Achilles' pistol. Calmly, he lowered the weapon, swinging the chamber out and inserting a fresh load of rounds in. That surprised John, as he had only counted five rounds being fired; most revolvers he had used held six rounds. As Achilles holstered the pistol and unsheathed his machete, John spoke under his breath to the Chosen One.
"I've never seen that gun before," he said. Yudhajit grunted in response.
"It's a 5.56 pistol. Haven't seen that in a long time. Can't believe he only brought that and a submachine gun to clear out a Vault…" he trailed off, as the wet sound of the machete hacking through flesh and bone echoed through the room. A moment later, Achilles appeared again, holding his machete in one hand and Motor Runner's head in the other, and wearing a smile on his face.
"That should be it for the Fiends, then. Let's head back to McCarran. I want to collect on the bounty."
Gallows was by far the most skillful opponent Clover had faced in years, if at all. Their fight had dragged on for five minutes now, each matching the other blow for blow. Clover realized, early on, that she would be unable to maintain the pace of her assault; that Gallows was holding back, intentionally fighting defensively, in the hopes of letting her fatigue herself before launching a final assault that she would be unable to fend off. She had the speed and the reflexes, but Gallows was strong and deceptively fast; and an expert in the use of his Ripper. It was as they circled each other, each looking for an opening that would end the fight, that a shot rang out and impacted near them. Then another shot, and soon more; two of them bouncing off Gallows' armor as they each spun to face the direction of the fire. Clover counted approximately 10 members of the Talon Company, before the realization hit her…there were members of Reilly's crew in this group. Well this complicates things, she thought, turning back to face Gallows as he slipped away into the shadows. Clover shrieked as the frustration built in her, anger at her inability to finish Gallows off exploding in her. With a last glance at the group of mercenaries racing towards her, she reactivated her stealth field and disappeared into the night.
Jackson Clancy and Susie Mack entered the gates of Megaton after darkness had fallen, each wearing civilian clothing that served as a makeshift disguise. Ideally, they had hoped to ask around Megaton and find out the source of the leak to Three Dog without drawing any attention to themselves. That, they realized, was not to be; as Lucas Simms drew near while they stood at the top of the staircase that led down into the crater.
"Jackson. Susie. Good to see ya," he began, his broad smile set into his face. Smiling back, Susie took Lucas' offered hand, before the smile began to fade from the Sheriff's face. "You're here about the broadcast, right?" Susie sighed before responding.
"Yeah, we are. Amata was beyond pissed when she heard that broadcast. She wanted us to find out for sure who leaked the information to Three Dog," she explained. Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as if to fend off a headache before responding.
"Any ideas?" he asked, looking back at her.
"Yeah. The blonde that works at the Brass Lantern. She seems like the most obvious person." Lucas twisted his face, a mix of sadness and frustration, at her response.
"I agree, sadly. Lucy is the most likely person. We can go talk to her, if you want, but I can't let y'all touch her. She ain't done anything wrong; and frankly, I kind of understand if she did tell Three Dog," he responded, his answer catching Susie by surprise.
"Why do you understand it?" she asked.
"John did her wrong, in a way. Not totally, but that girl cared for him and he didn't give her a second thought when Amata came up here. People are bound to get attached to one another, if they spend enough time together. And Lucy got attached, no matter what she says," he explained.
"Either way, we have orders," Jackson said simply. "Amata wants to know who it was, and she wants to have a word with them." Lucas nodded in response.
"Fair enough. Lucy is up at Moriarty's. I'll walk with you up there. I think it'd be better for everyone if we had a neutral party there." With that, Lucas turned to lead the group to Moriarty's, the group moving in silence up the catwalks and towards the lights and sounds pouring out of the saloon. Before entering the saloon, Lucas spoke again. "Just so y'all know, I'm not exactly Colin Moriarty's favorite person. We may want to try to make this quick." With a final nod, he turned and pushed through the door, followed by Jackson and Susie. The noise of the bar subsided faintly as the bar goer's eyes turned to face the Sheriff and his two companions, followed a moment later by hushed whispers. Spotting Lucy, sitting along the bar, Lucas moved forward, the noise of the bar resuming as the patrons turned back to their drinks and conversations. Lucy smiled at Lucas as he approached, before spotting Jackson and Susie. Her expression faded into a scowl as she saw them approach.
"Need something, Lucas?" she asked in a flat tone.
"You mind stepping outside for a moment, Lucy? We need to have a word with you." Rolling her eyes, Lucy pushed away from the bar and stood up.
"Lead the way, Sheriff," she responded, gesturing toward the door. Quietly, the group made their way out and onto the catwalks. Once there, Lucy spoke again. "So what's this about?"
"Did you tell Three Dog about the Overseer's pregnancy?" Jackson asked, preempting anything that Lucas or Susie could say. Lucy looked taken aback for a moment, before fixing a steady gaze on Jackson.
"Yes. I did. Do you have a problem with that?" she responded.
"Why, Lucy?" Lucas asked plaintively.
"Because I was mad. I gave John everything. I was there for him. And then as soon as your new best friend showed her face, he forgot I even existed," she responded, the bitterness in her voice taking the group aback.
"Now, Lucy…" Lucas began, before she cut him off.
"Don't try to talk me down, Lucas. I told Three Dog. And I don't think I did anything wrong. I haven't hurt anyone. So what're you going to do, arrest me?" Silence settled over the group as she looked at each of them in turn. "Because if not, I'm going to get back to my drink." With that, Lucy turned and walked back into Moriarty's, leaving the group standing out on the walkway.
"Well, I guess that solves that mystery…" Susie began.
"She's right, though. She hasn't done anything I can arrest her for. I know Amata is gonna be mad, but Evan King would be just as mad if something happened to Lucy. Y'all have to go back and tell Amata she has to think of the big picture here," Lucas replied. Sighing, Susie looked at Jackson before responding.
"I know. I don't know how well she'll take the news, but I know. It alright with you if we spend the night here?" she asked. The smile returned to Lucas' face at that.
"Of course. Y'all come up to my place, we'll get something to eat."
John and Yudhajit had joined their companions at the Aces Theater, sitting down with a drink to discuss the day's events.
"He's good. As good as I was, probably," Yudhajit began, taking a sip from his Scotch as he spoke.
"He's something to see in action, that's for sure," John concurred. A smile crossed the Chosen One's features as he looked at John.
"Want to go ahead and admit I was right now?" he asked, drawing a sound of disgust from John.
"Fuck you, old man," he responded, before downing his whiskey. That drew a proper laugh from Yudhajit.
"Hey, this old man had an easier time keeping up today than you did," he replied.
"I was just holding back," John replied as their waiter brought him a fresh whiskey. As the Lonesome Drifter finished his song, John spotted the Courier entering the theater, accompanied by two other people. Spotting them, he made his way over, pulling up seats across from John and Yudhajit, next to Bonzo and Fawkes. Gale had not yet arrived, she was enjoying the experience of having her own room too much to be pulled away easily.
"Thanks for the help today," Achilles began as he sat down. "Appreciate you helping Boone and Cass get some rest," he continued, a smile crossing his face as he looked at Cass and nudged her ribs, drawing a roll of the eyes from her.
"What's next for you, then? Have you thought more about what I said?" Yudhajit asked.
"I got this broadcast on my Pip-Boy I'm going to check out. Something about the Sierra Madre," he replied, drawing a groan from Cass. Even Boone, who until that point had been stone faced, showed a faint smirk at that.
"Sierra Madre is a myth, kid. You're going to go chasing fairy tales at a time like this?" the Chosen One asked, incredulous.
"I tried to tell him that, but he won't listen. Once he heard about the gold, he was set," Cass responded.
"It's not just the gold. Imagine what could be there. And I'd be the first to see it. I think it's worth a shot," the Courier responded.
"I think it's a terrible idea that you're going to regret," Yudhajit replied, before shrugging. "But whatever. Your choice. We're off to the Old Mormon Fort tomorrow so this guy," he said, gesturing at John, "can get his leg checked out. After that it's probably on into the NCR. By the time we're done there this war might be over. Remember what I told you, Achilles," Yudhajit said cryptically, drawing looks from the others at the table. A look of frustration crossed the Courier's face at that.
"That's not how it's pronounced," he replied, drawing a look of surprise from his companions. Even Boone stopped to look at him. "Everyone pronounces it A-kill-ease when they see my name, but that's not how its said."
"How do you say it, then?" John asked.
"Its Ah-sheel," the Courier replied, sounding his name out.
"You never told me that. Why didn't you tell me that?" Cass asked, punching him in the shoulder.
"Didn't think it mattered to you one way or the other," the Courier replied, his accent making the words sound harsher than they were. Cass simply rolled her eyes at him.
"You're a fuckin' idiot," she replied, turning to order a drink for herself as she did.
"I agree with my niece," Yudhajit said, enjoying the looks of shock that crossed all their faces at that. "You are an idiot, Achilles."
So, hi everyone. This is still a thing. I promise, I'm really going to try to get back on a regular schedule now. I just got out of the Army so I should have time while I settle back into being a free person to do some writing. Anyway, thoughts and feedback, let me know. Thanks for reading!